Nasal valve collapse is a frequent and sufficient cause of nasal airway obstruction, characterized by a loss of support from lateral nasal cartilages typically observed following rhinoplasty, nasal trauma or in aged patients. Properly functioning nasal cartilage acts to keep the nasal passages open. If the lateral cartilages become weak, they collapse inward when a person inhales due to the negative pressure from the flow of air. This problem is currently largely untreated due to the complexity and highly variable results associated with current repair techniques, combined with the fact that a majority of patients are elderly or have a history of nasal surgery. These complex surgical procedures have been developed to correct valve collapse by reinforcing the lateral cartilages so adequate support can permit valve opening and thus eliminate the nasal airway obstruction.
However, many of these procedures require surgically opening the nose to replace structurally insufficient tissue with either synthetic or autologous tissue grafts. Results of these procedures have been highly variable and drawbacks include the lack of sufficient autologous grafting tissue, significant infection and extrusion of synthetic grafts, the potential for altering facial aesthetics and possible confounding effects on other nasal functionality. Another method for repairing nasal valve collapse, developed by Friedman et al., involves a bone-anchor suspension technique whereby a suture is anchored to the orbital rim and placed subcutaneously so as to loop through the upper lateral cartilage. Instead of imparting structural integrity to the collapsed cartilage, it applies tensile forces through this suture to prevent further collapse. Although the procedure has shown some promise, very few surgeons perform the technique because of the technical difficulties and potential complications. Complications occur because patients develop granulomas due to suture proximity to the nasal mucosa, which eventually necessitates implant removal.
Overall, nasal valve collapse is an oftentimes untreated problem due to inconsistent results from a myriad of very complex procedures performed by very few surgeons. As such, there remains a need for an endoscopic method to repair nasal valve in a simple, consistent manner.